Podcasts · Science

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Spencer Greenberg

300 episodes · Explicit

Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?

Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. The most important century (with Holden Karnofsky)

    · 1 h 48 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Has society reached ‘peak progress’? Can we sustain the level of economic growth that technology has enabled over the last century? Have researchers plucked the last of science's…

  2. Should we try to live forever? (with Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston)

    · 1 h 14 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why do humans live as long as they do? Since whales have literally tons more cells than humans, why don't they develop cancers at much higher rates than humans? What can the genetic…

  3. Trying to convince Spencer to be a utilitarian (with Tyler John)

    · 1 h 29 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. How has utilitarianism evolved from early Chinese Mohism to the formulations of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill? On what points did Bentham and Mill agree and disagree? How has…

  4. A conversation with an autistic person (with Megan Neff)

    · 1 h 35 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What does autism feel like from the inside? Do autistic people lack empathy? What is context insensitivity? What are some ways special interests can manifest in autistic people? What are…

  5. AI: Autonomous or controllable? Pick one (with Anthony Aguirre)

    · 1 h 31 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Is AI that's both superintelligent and aligned even possible? Does increased intelligence necessarily entail decreased controllability? What's the difference between "safe" and "under…

  6. How much does global population decline matter? (with Dean Spears)

    · 1 h 08 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What is the current global birth rate? What factors have contributed, or are currently contributing, to this rate? What outcomes will we experience as a result, and when? How accurate…

  7. Is AI going to ruin everything? (with Gabriel Alfour)

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Is AI going to ruin everything? What kind of AI-related dangers should we be most worried about? What do good institutions look like? Should designing better institutions be a major…

  8. What listeners think Spencer's wrong about: steel-manning critiques

    · 1 h 26 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What defines a cult? Is there such a thing as a good cult? Do Clearer Thinking's tools actually help people? Why does Clearer Thinking share its tools for free for everyone to use? How…

  9. What do we know about psychology that matters? (with Paul Bloom)

    · 1 h 21 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. NOTE: The video version of this conversation is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hWNknrc23Fo In light of the replication crisis, should social scientists try to replicate every…

  10. Bringing your "A-game" to your relationships (with Annie Lalla)

    · 1 h 20 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What does it mean to bring your "A-game" to relationships? What is emotional "fitness"? What forces do relationships need to balance to remain stable and healthy? Are we attracted to a…

  11. The rival philosophies to Stoicism that you've never heard about (with Greg Lopez)

    · 1 h 09 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Do we still have a lot to learn from ancient Greco-Roman philosophies? What is telos? What is ataraxia? What is "dark" Stoicism? What is the "resilient asshole" problem? What is (or what…

  12. What can we all agree on? (with Bradley Tusk)

    · 1 h 05 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. In times of such extreme political polarization, where can we find common ground? Should we require disclosure of AI authorship? Should AI companies be required to provide fingerprinting…

  13. Shamanism, witchcraft, and the power of narrative (with Manvir Singh)

    · 1 h 33 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What do westerners misunderstand about "tribal" cultures? How does justice in very small communities differ from justice in large nation-states? Why do some cultures have bride prices…

  14. Which Spencer is real? Spencer vs. his AI clone

    · 40 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Can you tell which is the real Spencer and which is his AI clone? How irrational are people really? What do most people misunderstand about psychology? What are the best tools to use to…

  15. Too many mental health challenges and not enough psychiatrists (with Jacob Appel)

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. How big is the current mental health crisis? What's causing it? What do we know about the age distribution of people suffering from mental health issues right now? Is the crisis just…

  16. Misinformation from all sides (with Brian Dunning)

    · 1 h 16 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why is misinformation a never-ending problem? What fraction of misinformation is intentionally manipulative? What's the difference between bullshit and other kinds of misinformation?…

  17. A conversation with a rigid perfectionist who has OCPD (with Darryl Rossignol)

    · 1 h 15 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What is obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), and how does it compare to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)? Why is it relatively prevalent and yet also relatively…

  18. Simple and effective methods for helping people that nonprofits often ignore (with Kanika Bahl)

    · 1 h 07 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why do nonprofits often ignore the simplest, most obvious solutions for helping the world? Why do some problems get a lot of attention while others — often of equal or greater importance…

  19. How to unleash student potential in education (with Jack Despain Zhou)

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. How bad are things in US education? Why does it seem that educational progress has stagnated? What parts of the US education system should be reformed? Is it better to group students by…

  20. How f***ed is psychology? (with Adam Mastroianni)

    · 1 h 43 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Is the bar for what counts as new knowledge higher in psychology than in other scientific fields? Why did the field of psychology formally start centuries later than other scientific…

  21. A conversation with a multiple-time survivor of sexual abuse

    · 1 h 06 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why might being the victim of sexual abuse increase the likelihood of being re-victimized? What warning signs, if any, might an abuser exhibit before becoming abusive? How might trauma…

  22. A story can change the world (with Elizabeth Cox)

    · 1 h 11 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. How important is story-telling for changing the world? What counts as a story? How closely should persuasive stories conform to the formula of "the hero's journey"? How much time do we…

  23. The heavy price you'll have to pay to have a healthy relationship (with David Burns)

    · 1 h 37 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What are the main causes of problems in romantic relationships? What are the behaviors and patterns that lead to healthy relationships? What is the price of a good relationship? Are dark…

  24. The skills every adult human should have (with Raffi Grinberg)

    · 1 h 22 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What life skills do most people fail to learn before adulthood? Why does this failure occur? What should constructive disagreement look like? When might it be impossible to overcome a…

  25. Rethinking our assumptions about happiness (with Stephanie Harrison)

    · 1 h 07 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What do most people get wrong about happiness? Why doesn't the happiness resulting from success last longer? Is it easier to "get ahead" today than it was 100 years ago? How are we…

  26. Evidence-Based Medicine and its discontents (with Gordon Guyatt)

    · 1 h 15 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. How were decisions made about which treatments to trust before the advent of "evidence-based" medicine? How strong are biological arguments for or against various treatments? When did…

  27. AI, US-China relations, and lessons from the OpenAI board (with Helen Toner)

    · 1 h 22 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Is it useful to vote against a majority when you might lose political or social capital for doing so? What are the various perspectives on the US / China AI race? How close is the…

  28. Getting a handle on your goals and big life changes (with Tee Barnett)

    · 1 h 23 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What are the best things to do to help someone achieve their goals? What kind of person should see a personal coach? And when should they do so? What makes for a good personal coach? How…

  29. Avoiding major investment mistakes (with Jim O'Shaughnessy)

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What are the biggest mistakes people make when investing? What's the best thing to do with extra savings? How can we overcome emotional biases that might negatively impact our investment…

  30. Creating a new city from scratch (with Erick Brimen)

    · 1 h 23 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What does it take to start a new city, especially one designed to be a special economic zone (SEZ)? What are the advantages and disadvantages to having a private company as manager of a…

  31. What's the most effective type of therapy? (with Matthew Smout)

    · 1 h 32 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? What are the "cognitive" and "behavioral" parts of CBT? What are some of its most common techniques? What are "negative core beliefs"? What…

  32. A conversation about Borderline Personality Disorder (with Kayla Spicer)

    · 1 h 37 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)? Why is it so stigmatized relative to other mental health issues? What does it mean to be the "favorite person" of someone with BPD? Can…

  33. Could the placebo effect be bullshit? (with Literal Banana)

    · 1 h 27 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Is the placebo effect bullshit? Are "open-label" placebos just as effective as "closed-label" placebos? How do placebos differ from dummies? Is the placebo effect just a kind of…

  34. Making better decisions by thinking like an artist (with Elspeth Kirkman)

    · 1 h 07 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What kinds of things really distort our ability to think clearly when making decisions? What is "psychological distance"? What is construal level theory? How can we intentionally…

  35. Are the culture wars harming science? (with Cremieux)

    · 1 h 28 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Which of the world's hardest problems can be solved merely by gathering more data? Why are social problems harder to solve than biological problems? How should power between business…

  36. How can you learn more efficiently? (with Scott Young)

    · 1 h 19 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What do schools do well and not so well? In what contexts is memorization most effective? What's the value in teaching something that will probably be forgotten by most students after…

  37. A conversation with a narcissist (with Jacob Skidmore)

    · 1 h 31 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Are narcissists born with narcissism? What are the core components of narcissism? To what extent do narcissists have their own personality that isn't shaped by what others think of them?…

  38. What effects does guaranteed income have on U.S. citizens? (with Eva Vivalt)

    · 1 h 12 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What have we learned about UBI from recent, large-scale studies? What factors contribute to differential attrition in (especially long-term) studies? How much does it cost to run large…

  39. Human evolution and AI evolution (with Dwarkesh Patel)

    · 1 h 04 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What interesting things can we learn by studying pre-humans? How many different species of pre-humans were there? Why is there only a single species of human now? If pre-human species…

  40. Should sex work be a crime? (with Kaytlin Bailey)

    · 1 h 21 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why are sex workers treated so badly in the US? What effects do licensing requirements have on sex workers and their customers? How do sex worker rights connect with privacy rights more…

  41. When does productivity become toxic? (with Israa Nasir)

    · 1 h 00 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. When does productivity become toxic? To which part(s) of ourselves or our lives should we anchor our self-worth? How can we connect our productivity to our values? How does self-esteem…

  42. A conversation with a sociopath (with M.E. Thomas)

    · 2 h 06 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Are the terms "psychopath" and "sociopath" interchangeable? Are people suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) naturally violent? Are people usually born with these…

  43. Highs and lows on the road out of the replication crisis (with Brian Nosek)

    · 1 h 38 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. How much more robust have the social sciences become since the beginnings of the replication crisis? What fraction of replication failures indicate that the original result was a false…

  44. Suffering and the self (with Jay Garfield)

    · 1 h 11 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why do we suffer? Would we still suffer if we got rid of all craving and aversion? Is pain the same thing as suffering? How is suffering connected to the concept of self? Should people…

  45. Choosing your strategy (with Seth Godin)

    · 55 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What are the differences between tactics and strategies? Is the speed of growth of a company the main thing business school graduates should consider when trying to figure out where to…

  46. How to be productive without burning out (with Anne-Laure Le Cunff)

    · 1 h 17 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What is "mindful" productivity? Is impostor syndrome linked to main character syndrome? Must increased productivity always come with an increased risk of burn-out? What mistakes do…

  47. Does simply giving people money truly enable them to escape poverty? (with Miriam Laker)

    · 1 h 00 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Should we give cash directly to people living in poverty? Why do most nonprofits prefer to give services rather than cash? What should be done if the things that a person really needs…

  48. Who really controls US elections? (with Bradley Tusk)

    · 1 h 17 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. What's the reality of how politicians get elected in the US? How much of a role does gerrymandering play? Are Democrats and Republicans equally guilty of gerrymandering? Do the parties…

  49. Communities of belief vs. communities of chemistry (with Tyler Alterman)

    · 1 h 35 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Do people need more community in their lives? What makes for a good community? Can you really belong to a community if you don't share its core values? Is social chemistry transitive? Do…

  50. Everyone — including you! — should host more events (with Nick Gray)

    · 1 h 21 min · Explicit

    Read the full transcript here. Why should people host more events than they do right now? Under what conditions shouldn't a person host more events? Do these suggestions apply to introverts? What's the best RSVP tool?…

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